~ Theology that is Approachable, Enjoyable, and Relevant

Do you enjoy church?

Do you enjoy church? I’m not asking if you are entertained by church. That’s something far different.

But do you really enjoy going to church? Being a part of church? Being church?

If not, then why are you there? Why are you a part of church? Why are you church?

What does it mean to enjoy church? That’s a good question. What does it mean to enjoy something? One definition is to take delight or pleasure in something. Is church just something that you do because you’ve always done it? Is it just a tradition? I’ll ask again, then why do you keep going? Afraid to change? Afraid someone might criticize you?

Afraid to actually live out what Jesus calls us to?

When we preach each Sunday, it’s a message of the Good News. A message of hope and joy. A message of consolation and challenge. A message that tells us that God changes lives – including our own – because we can’t do it on our own.

Yet I wonder, how many people are actually open to what this really means for their lives? It’s very easy to just go through the motions. It’s quite different though to open the barriers around our heart and mind and let the word, the Good News, penetrate our defenses. When that happens, we change.

Do you enjoy church? Or are you just going?

Is your life changing at all because of what you hear, see, taste, feel, and learn – because of the relationships too? Or has church just become a task on your list?

We enjoy something that makes us feel alive and full of life. That is what church can be. That is what the Spirit does. Yet so often, we close the Spirit off – we’d rather try things our way. At least then we are the ones in control. Yet we end up miserable. Locked in fights about politics, busy to the point of exhaustion, overworked and under valued, and lost spiritually. We tell ourselves we’ll get to it later when we have more time. But the linger question remains in the back of our minds – when will that time ever come. And so we go through the motions, hoping for a spiritual moment to change our lives rather experience a life of spirit.

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I believe that God, church, and theology are approachable, enjoyable, and relevant for everyone. I write about this a lot because people need to hear it. So many people feel lost, hopeless, alone, and are searching for identity and meaning.
I'm an ELCA Pastor (Lutheran) who has a background in politics, business, and the non-profit worlds. I take churchy theological ideas and words and communicate them in everyday language that people can understand, in ways that relate, and show that God, church, and theology matter a great deal. Oh, and it doesn't have to be boring either - mostly because it's the best news ever!